The Last Artist

At the start of this moody, ominous stand-alone from the author of the Leigh Girard series (Death’s Door, etc.), struggling performance artist Rose Caffrey discovers the body of her sister, Karen, sprawled on the floor of Karen’s Illinois farmhouse. The police dismiss Karen’s death as an unfortunate but accidental fall from her library ladder. But Rose has to wonder after discovering that the upstairs rooms of the 175-year-old home are covered with primitive yet stunning murals depicting the house’s history and its ties to a Native American tragedy, the infamous “Trail of Tears.” But why is there a volcano in the background of one mural and other such oddities? When Rose pries deeper into her sister’s scholarly research, she finds that much of it pertaining to the murals has vanished. More sinister, someone with murderous intentions is stalking her. Despite being far-fetched, Rose’s present-day sleuthing and the intertwined tale of the original homeowners command our interest until the final page. (May)